


Missing Drop

by in_motu_proprio



Series: Her Loss [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brain Damage, Crying, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mean Friend, PTSD, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2562785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/in_motu_proprio/pseuds/in_motu_proprio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mack finds Fitz crying in the lab after Jemma's walked out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Drop

“She just… she doesn’t… and then….” Fitz flailed his hands and then jammed them down hard onto his hips. Simmons had just walked out, Mack saw her in the hall just before he came in. She’d walked out and left Fitz there crying like an idiot. Fitz clearly didn’t know what to do, tears running down his face, but then Mack came in and wrapped his big arms around the guy, and Fitz had gone to pieces. Mack sometimes didn’t know what to do with this guy, how to help him, but he always let Fitz feel whatever he was feeling. In this case, though, he brought Fitz back to his room because he was a mess. It wasn’t unusual to see the two of them around, Fitz looking freaked out and Mack helping to get him somewhere. 

“Ok,” Mack said softly when they finally got to Fitz’s room, pulling back a little bit. “Tell me what happened, but take a couple of deep breaths first, ok?” 

Fitz followed his directions, but instead of talking, he just wrapped his arms back around Mack and held on for dear life. It was clear the guy was wrecked by something and Mack had a feeling that something had red hair and an accent. Skye had told him how close Fitz and Simmons had been and Mack regretted never having seen it. It would have been sweet, at least that’s what he thought. But now Fitz was clinging to him, crying buckets. Mack was pretty good with Fitz by now, just knowing when the guy needed to cry it out or flail and stutter. Right now, though, Fitz was bordering on hysterical and it worried Mack. “Fitz, man… you’ve got to calm down, ok?” 

Mack moved Fitz away, making him sit up and look at him. “Fitz… hey…” Mack’s fingers lined one side of FItz’s jaw, his thumb falling on the other side. “Breathe with me, ok? Just breathe.” Mack took slow, careful breaths and held Fitz’s eyes in an attempt to get the guy to follow along. “Slow, ok?” Fitz followed him and slowly his breathing returned to a more normal pace. He was still crying, though, and Mack went back to just stroking his back and letting him babble. 

Mack had thought the Scot was cute from the first time he’d met him, but now that they were working more closely it was different. Mack saw these aspects of Fitz that no one else got to see. All he could think was how dumb Simmons was for working next to Fitz for years and never seeing how incredible he was. That was the only reason Mack could come up with for her leaving. She gave up on him. Mack refused to, though. “Good.” Mack patted Fitz’s cheek and the Scot turned his face into Mack’s palm, lips brushing under the pad of Mack’s thumb. He didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but Mack couldn’t stop the explosion of nerve endings going on all over his palm and zinging up his arm. 

“I don’t want to wait,” Fitz said. Mack opened his mouth and he realized Fitz was talking to himself, eyes a little wild before the young man finally looked at Mack. “I don’t want to wait.” 

“Wait for what,” Mack asked softly, patting the guy’s arm. “You don’t have to wait for anything, Fitz. You get to do whatever you want to, ok?” Mack had the feeling Fitz had always been pretty repressed and letting go of some of that might help him. 

“I d…don’t want to wait and have it be too l.. l… late again.” Fitz had that wide, innocent look on his face that usually made Mack have to walk away. There was no walking away though. They were sitting there on the end of Fitz’s bed. Mack could feel it, he knew what Fitz was talking about, but he couldn’t believe it until the Scot was grabbing his shirt and kissing him clumsily. Mack blinked, not pulling back but going stiff. “It’s always too late, why is it always too late?” Fitz’s mouth left wide swaths of wet over Mack’s lips. What the guy lacked in skills, he made up for in enthusiasm, though. 

“Hey…” Mack had to grab Fitz’s wrists and hold them firmly to the man’s chest. “Hey, look at me.” Fitz blinked a few times and brought himself in check, arms straining against Mack’s grip. “You don’t have to wait. It’s not too late. It’s not.” Fitz opened his mouth to speak, but this time Mack leaned in. His lips gently pressed to Fitz’s, making the Scot moan softly. Mack didn’t rush it, and he held onto Fitz’s wrists for a good long time to make sure he didn’t get overwhelmed. “See?” Mack said softly when he pulled back. They were both breathless and fidgeting. “Not too late, Fitz. I’ve got you, ok?” 

“I want to be with you, Fitz, but I don’t want it to be because you’re freaking out.” Fitz went to argue and Mack put his finger on the Scot’s pillowy bottom lip. “I want to have a nice night with you, to feed you dinner and to watch a movie or dance….” Mack leaned in and pressed his lips to Fitz’s forehead. “I want it to be about us when it happens, not about her.” He said it quietly, but Fitz looked like he got it. Smart guy.

Mack didn’t say anything else, just led Fitz up to the head of the bed and helped him take off his sweater and shoes. He pulled back the covers and saw that Fitz was tucked in, sitting next to him for awhile, petting his curls until the younger man fell asleep. _Jemma Simmons, your loss is my gain._ Mack kissed Fitz’s forehead when he was certain the man was asleep and went to make a few repairs. He needed to think about how to treat Fitz to a good first date when they were stuck in the Playground. He was deep in that thought when familiar footfall caught his attention. Mack slid his game face into place and turned to see Jemma Simmons looking like she’d been kicked in the heart. 

It ended up being a quick conversation and one he didn’t regret in the least. Even if he and Fitz wound up together, she’d always be there, this sepctre of what could have been, of a path not taken. In his mind, letting Fitz and Simmons play this out between them was in everyone’s best interest. Well, he hoped it was. He was no psychologist, but he felt like he knew Fitz. Fitz needed this, he needed closure, to understand why she’d left him or he’d be haunted by it forever. Maybe it was selfish, but Mack wanted to start things with Fitz on fresh, level playing ground. They both deserved at least that much. He tightened a lug nut and started to whistle, picking a few songs for his and Fitz’s first date. _Soon,_ he thought. _Really soon._

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from a quote from Mother Teresa:
> 
> "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."


End file.
